New Delhi, Oct 30 (IANS) Holding banners and raising slogans, over 300 students from northeastern states protested here Friday the rising crime against their community in the capital while in another part of the city they held a candlelight vigil. Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit was quick to promise immediate action to ensure their safety.
Voicing their concern, students held banners that read ‘Northeasterns are soft targets because the state neglects them’ and shouted slogans of being “racially discriminated” in Delhi.

Diskhit, who met the students at Jantar Mantar, listened to their grievances and assured them that the government will “do its best” to check crime against the community.

“Delhi is as much yours as it is of anyone else. Please take this out of your mind that you are being neglected or racially discriminated. The government will do all it can to ensure your safety,” Dikshit told the students.

“I will have a meeting with a delegation of northeast MPs on Monday or Tuesday and we will decide on a concrete plan of action to check these crimes. We will hopefully launch a 24/7 toll free helpline number for the northeast students and women soon,” she added.

Happy that their voices had finally attracted attention, the students said they hoped the officials will keep their word and come up with a concrete plan of action for their safety.

Said Alo Bashu, a member of the Naga Students Union here: “Frankly I’m sceptical of what the political leaders say, but this time I’m hoping that things will materialise. We will not give up until they do.”

“Northeast is as much a part of India as any other part of the country. Then why are northeastern people discriminated and constantly targeted? And why does the state government not do anything about it?” Bashu said to IANS.

While there have been several cases of molestation and crimes against the community members, the angry protests Friday were triggered by the murder of a Naga girl last week. Ramchanphy Hongray, 19, was strangulated by her neighbour Pushpum Sinha, a PhD scholar of IIT, in her Munirka home in south Delhi.

Sinha, who is said to be suffering from obsessive compulsive disorder, then burnt the girl’s face to mislead the police. Sinha killed Hongray as she had spurned his advances and he thought she would spill the beans, the police had said.

In Munirka, students from across all communities held a candle light vigil to mark their protest.

Said Amrita Nandi Joshi, a member of NGO Sangat: “The northeast community is targeted in particular because they look different. Our message today is this mindless discrimination and violence must stop.”

Ashima Jain, a Delhi University student who took part in the vigil, added: “This is not a case of northeast students only. Today it’s them, tomorrow it could be any of us. People’s attitude must change. Otherwise there is no hope for the capital.”

Joining the aggrieved students, Takam Sanjay, an MP from Arunachal Pradesh, said: “The northeast MPs’ forum, which is a delegation of over 30 MPs from the region, will meet the home minister next week and will bring to his notice the rising law and order problem and targeting of the northeastern youngsters in Delhi.”

The agitating students also demanded that all the old, pending cases of crime against northeastern people in Delhi be taken into account immediately.

“We want all culprits who target us and think they can get away with it, be punished stringently,” said Luikang, president of the Naga Students’ Union.